Tinbergs on Tour: Sunday, June 7, 2015 – At Sea – Mediterranean Sea – Sunny

An absolutely beautiful day at sea…

I had my first breakfast up in the Lido Buffet. Wonderful. Pancakes are made to order as are waffles so they don’t petrify under the heating lamps. They have cottage cheese and sour cream (although the sour cream is not what we have at home). They also have those cute little bottles of preserves – including my favorites, Black Currant and Orange Marmalade. There are plenty of tables with an ocean view and the music is soft and relaxing. A perfect positive storm for breakfast (and yes, everyone behind the counter is wearing gloves).

Breakfast was delicious. I brought down a tray for Ellen (they have trays which makes transport of food easier).

Deck 3 is the open deck on Queen Victoria and it is fully stocked with comfortable lounge chairs. That is where we will spend most of our time on this ship.

I am reading “Now You See Me” by S.J. Bolton. This is the first of her Lacey Flint Novels so I read the other two out of order (causing some confusion on my part). The story involves a modern day Jack the Ripper serial killer.

Most of our lunches will be in the Lido Buffet and most of my lunches will consist of salad bar items and made to order mini-pizzas. Perfect.

In the early afternoon, we got a special treat as Queen Victoria passed very close to the volcanic island of Stomboli. The volcano was very cooperative today and put on a “smokin’” show.

Stromboli and Me

Shortly after, the ship passed through the Straits of Messina. The visibility today was hindered by haze but I was still able to get some shots of mainland Italy and the island of Sicily.

Italian Coastline

The Toe of the Italian Boot

Sicily

The Commodore informed us that our sister ship, Queen Elizabeth, would be passing through the straits as well and that we would sound a salute (and get one in return). Queen Elizabeth was on her way to Gibraltar.

Queen Elizabeth

I received a message that Sally wanted to tape an interview with me later in the afternoon up in the Commodore Room on Deck 10. I dressed for the occasion and met her up there. She asked me about my presentations and a little bit about forensics in general. It was a very pleasant interview and I think I did better on this one that the one I did on the QM2. This interview would air on June 9, a few days before my first presentation.

My Interview with Sally Sagoe

Tonight is formal night. Ellen went to the Britannia ahead of me and spoke to the Maitre D in charge of seating. She was able to get a seat assignment at a table of six – just the two of us. It was hot in the dining room so I put my jacket on the seat (after I noticed someone else doing the same).

But the biggest treat of the night was “Vegetarian Onion Soup”, which is about as rare as a four leaf clover. The magical moment was documented.

Eating my very special Onion Soup

We also had “Salmon Wellington” – salmon fillet in a bread crust. The dinner and service were both great (including hot decaf coffee)and we had some time to read or listen to music before the show tonight. We found out that the piano vocalist in the Commodore Lounge (Deck 10) is Clarolyn Maier, whom we first met on our Grand Panama Canal Cruise on the Pacific Princess in 2009.

We went to the 8:30 Show tonight. The Royal Court Theater is terraced, making all the seats pretty good. There is also good leg room. The best seats, we found, were located in the first row beyond the Orchestra Section. You can see over the small railing and you are only 10 rows from the stage. Perfect.

The Production Show - “A Stroke of Genius” - included songs inspired by art. My favorite number was “Starry Starry Night”. The singers and dancers are great – very high energy with some wild choreography (including some gymnastic moves).